A Falling Heart
by Jessa Rose
Summary: What if Zofis never erased Koko's mind from the mamodo battle? What if she remembered every single thing she did and said to Sherry when they battled against each other? What will happen when Koko is slowly falling from the pain and guilt in her heart?
1. Shopping

**A/N: Well this is my first Zatch Bell story, so let me know how it goes! Just to let you know, each chapter switches from Koko to Sherry. In this chapter it is Koko's point of view. This story is rated K+ for mature children and up. All reviews are welcome!**

**Disclaimer: Okay listen up because I'm only going to say this once. I do not own Zatch Bell and probably never will. I do however own a few made up characters that will come later in the story. But the Zatch Bell characters, I do not own.**

* * *

Do you know what it's like to know something you shouldn't know? Like a secret, maybe. A secret that could tear you and your friend apart?

Well, I do. My heart is slowly burning away to nothing but a pile of ashes. I never wanted this to happen. It's not like I asked for it or anything.

But it happened anyway.

My heart was manipulated by an evil mamodo named Zofis. Zofis isn't just your typical mamodo. He can take your love and heart and turn it in to evil and hatred.

This happened about a year ago, when the mamodo battle for king was still happening. I was the reader of his book, helping him with the evil plots with the one thousand year old mamodo.

Sherry thought that my mind was clear of all of this information, but in reality, I knew everything that I did to Sherry.

You see, Zofis didn't erase my mind of anything that happened during those times. Zofis knew that I wouldn't bear tell Sherry. I wouldn't put Sherry down and upset all over again! I already did once!

If Sherry knew that I knew, then she wouldn't have been able to concentrate on her _own_ mamodo's battle. I didn't want to interfere. It would only have made her angrier at Zofis. I longed to see her happy forever!

Whenever we do something together, I try my best to keep a joyful face. It's extremely hard though, because whenever I look at her, I remember all the horrible things I did and said to her!

I love Sherry because she is my best friend. But this guilt inside me is getting worse. I'm slowly falling in to the darkness again. I'm sorry Sherry. I'm sorry that I ruined your life.

00000

Today, Sherry and I are going to shop at our favorite mall. She loves hanging out with me, especially since the mamodo battle has been over.

I remember when the battle just started to cease. All the mamodo were sent back and everything of our world was normal once again. Sherry had all the time in the world!

She always came over to my college dorm and talked to me. She would ask how I was doing and if I was happy.

Of course, I would always reply yes but inside, I say no.

I waited outside of the college building, the flag flapping in the breeze. The parking lot was emptier than usual because it was a Saturday. Most students went out to parties on Saturdays.

Finally, the limousine pulled up next to me. I put on a fake smile as Sherry's butler got out of the long car.

"Greetings Miss Koko," he said warmly. "How is everything?"

"Great, thank you!" I answered as he opened the door for me.

I carefully stepped in the darkened, air conditioned limo. Sherry was waiting for me with a happy smile upon her face.

"Hello Koko!" she said. "Ready to go shopping?"

I nodded and stared in front of me as the car turned out of the parking lot. I watched out the window as the awed children in other cars gasped about seeing a limo.

"So, how's school? Are you getting good grades?" she teased.

"Kind of," I said. "Not perfect, but okay."

"That's wonderful news," she said softly.

I looked in to my friend's pale face. It was carefree and happy. But somewhere in those eyes, I saw the small flicker of pain. The pain I had caused during the "Zofis time."

My eyes dropped from her face and I turned to the window, slowly.

Sherry instantly knew something was wrong once she got a glimpse of my expression.

"What's wrong, Koko?" she asked.

_Everything. I hurt you in the most ways possible! I treated you like you were not my friend! I was so evil to you, Sherry!_

But I lied and said, "Oh, nothing."

Every single day is like this. I think about it all the time. The evil deeds I did with that evil mamodo. The pain and hatred I caused. I am so evil.

Before I knew it, tears were sliding down my cheek.

"Koko!" Sherry cried. "What's wrong?"

She reached her arm over to me and held my hand with protection.

I quickly thought of a lie.

"It's just that I don't know what I will do after I get through college!" I said all at once.

"Oh Koko," she said, shaking her head. "I thought we talked about this. You were going to become an artist or a journalist."

"Yes, but I'm so scared, Sherry!" I said.

She cut me off before I could say anything else.

"Koko," she murmured. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise!"

_Yes, but little does she know, that my heart is slowly weeping me in to depression._

"I'm sorry, Sherry." I smiled, wiping away my tears. "I will be happy today."

00000

"Which store do you want to go to first?" Sherry asked me.

"Your choice," I said. "Since I have no sense of style."

"That's not true, Koko!" she said, taken back. "Of course you do! Come on!"

She pulled me to a nearby jewelry store.

"Look around," she said. "Anything you want, you can have."

"Okay," I said, trying not to sound greedy. In fact, I really couldn't care less about clothes and jewelry. But if it made Sherry happy, it gives me a slight warm feeling inside.

I looked at a glass case where dazzling diamond necklaces were. They looked expensive but they were so pretty. Each diamond sparkled and gleamed as if they were cheerful.

I shook my head though. I didn't want to take all of Sherry's money.

I went to another section and found Indian beads on thick string. They looked promising and they were selling for a good price. Maybe I could ask Sherry for one of these-

"Hey Koko!" she said, coming up from behind me. "Having trouble finding something you like?" She gave me a little laugh and pulled me toward a small spinning display.

The display had many sparkling necklaces on it! They were even on sale too!

"I picked one for you, if you don't mind." Sherry smiled. She took a purple and red jeweled necklace down from the rack. It had a tiny pink heart in the middle of it.

"Let's try it on," she said, acting like it was some kind of clothing material.

She put the tiny necklace around my neck, lifting my hair a bit. We walked over to a mirror and saw how it looked.

"It's beautiful!" we both said at the same time. And then we laughed, laughed like everything was alright, but it wasn't. In truth, I liked the necklace but it reminded me too much of the necklace I was accused of stealing by Zofis. The one that I held up to my neck and taunted Sherry with, back then. I was so horrible to her.

Although the necklaces looked nothing like each other, the necklace still was a necklace. And it reminded me of that day I put her family's golden necklace up to my neck. It almost caused Sherry to lose it. To lose her faith in me. And I can never forgive myself.

After Sherry tried on a few necklaces herself, and bought the one we admired on me, we headed out of the store. Sherry looked at her watch.

"It's one o' clock," she said. "Do you want some lunch or do you want to wait until dinner?"

My stomach was feeling kind of queasy because of the flashbacks so I answered, "I'll wait until dinner. But if you're hungry we can eat if you want."

"No, no," she said. "I had a big breakfast."

She smiled with her face lighting up with happiness.

"Where to next?" she asked.

00000

A few hours later, Sherry suggested going out to dinner.

"Where do you want to go, Koko?" she asked. "Anywhere you want!"

I stood there, shopping bags in hand, thinking.

"You pick," I finally said after awhile.

"I always pick," she protested. "Besides, I don't really care where we go."

"Well," I said. "I'm actually not in the mood to go to a restaurant. Can we eat something at your house, instead?"

Sherry gave me a confused look and simply said, "Okay."

She called her butler to pick us up outside the mall. We walked out of the grand building with our things.

Actually, I was in no mood to eat at all. My appetite was taken away from the sickness I felt from my new necklace.

I had to destroy it, just not now.

The black limo pulled up and we were greeted by Sherry's butler. We climbed in after smiling to him in a hello.

"So, where are you ladies planning to eat?" he asked us with his hands on the steering wheel.

"Koko and I decided to eat at home," Sherry said.

As we rode to the house, I looked out the window and sighed. I remembered the necklace on my neck and touched it gently.

The red jewels reminded me of the outfit I wore during the "Zofis times." It was red and frilly and so not me. Red also reminded me of blood. Blood that came out of heartless wounds.

The purple reminded me how sick I felt. The purple queasiness inside that was making me feel like I was going to throw up.

The small pink heart reminded me of the cold heart I had. The cold heart that hurt Sherry's heart and tore her apart during the Zofis battle.

I closed my eyes and sighed as the limo pulled up at the mansion.

"Do you want a sandwich?" Sherry asked me, once inside the kitchen.

"A sandwich would be fine," I answered, politely.

She kept asking me what I wanted on my sandwich and as she did, she kept looking at my necklace.

"I can't help noticing that your necklace is so beautiful," she whispered. "You look complete with it."

It reminded me of the sadness all over again. I tried not to show it in my eyes but I couldn't help it. A small frown rippled across my lips as I thought of the bad things I did to Sherry.

After one whole year of this every day, I tried to tell myself not to become depressed. It's just not like me to be that way. Sherry would become curious and ask me about this. I couldn't bear to let her know.

She served me the turkey and cheese sandwich with a glass of water.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" she teased.

"Yes." I smiled back.

_You don't need to give me anything else. You've already done so much for me, even though all I have done for you is torn you apart._

"I'm sorry, Sherry," I said.

"Sorry for what, Koko?" she asked.

"Sorry for making you go through too much trouble."

"Aw, it was nothing! It's just a sandwich."

I nodded and smiled. But on the inside, I frowned and sighed.

_No, for being in your life._


	2. Birthday

**Thanks for the reviews! Also, I guess I should say that this is based of the anime TV series, not the manga. Here's the next chapter, although it might be a little shorter than the last. Sorry about that.**

**Sherry's POV**

* * *

Today was a very special day! It was Koko's birthday!

I had called some of her college friends and rearranged a surprise party for her. I invited Koko to come over around four-thirty, but didn't tell her it was going to be a surprise party.

I told my butler I was going to be out for a bit, buying decorations for the surprise party. He told me to be careful, so I headed out to my small red car.

I opened the car door and glanced up at the clear sky. It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining and the sky promised a pleasant day.

I sniffed in the fresh air and got in to the car. I backed out of the large driveway and made my way down the road. I decided to go to _Party Place _to search for party things first.

I turned up the radio a little and pondered what Koko's birthday present would be. I had given her a beautiful necklace two weeks ago, so she wouldn't need any jewelry. Perhaps she'd like a new outfit or some new clothes.

She's so lonely at college; she doesn't have many friends. And even if she does, they're not very close friends.

But at least I'm grateful she is in college. She's doing well, and I'm happy for her. I'm so glad that she doesn't know about the mamodo battle. I am very thankful to Brago for threatening Zofis to clear Koko's brain.

I arrived at the store and walked in to the cluttered place. It had stocks full of silly and fun decorations. I figured Koko would like original decorations for her party, so I went to the easy section.

A couple of rowdy fourteen year-old boys were carrying big boxes, and one bumped in to me.

"Hey watch out, lady!" he said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, clearly he had run in to _me_.

"Dude," said the other boy. "That's Miss Belmont!"

"_Oh,_" said the other. "Sorry Miss." They ran away with the boxes, tumbling while at it.

I shook my head and picked some party streamers. I chose some balloons and wondered if she would appreciate a piñata.

I almost laughed at my useless joke. Koko was turning _eighteen_, not seven.

I picked out more party stuff and went to pay for them. I left feeling positive and happy.

Next, I went to a premium cake shop. I picked up Koko's cake made with chocolate and strawberry icing. I hoped she would like it since those were her two favorite foods.

After carrying the cake to my car, I thought about Koko's present. Maybe, since she was always lonely, I could get her a fish.

I nodded at my excellent thought and went to the pet store. I looked for the store manager and asked him where I could find fish that lived for a long time.

He showed me an assortment of cool fish that could live in a fish bowl. I picked out two fish, fish food, fish supplies, and a fish bowl, and paid for them at the counter. I thanked him and pushed my cart out of the animal scented store.

I went home and started decorating and getting ready. The guests would arrive very soon.

Perfect.

00000

At four-thirty, all three guests had arrived and were set up in the darkness of the party room. We were awaiting Koko's arrival.

My butler led Koko to the room and all of a sudden, the lights went on.

"Surprise!" all four of us yelled.

Koko's face lightened up and she ran over to me.

"Sherry!" she said. "Did you do this for me?" Her face was surprised as she looked around at the decorations and her friends.

"Of course, Koko," I said. "Happy birthday!"

She hugged me and smiled.

"Thank you, Sherry!" she said. "You're a real friend!"

After eating cake and playing a few party games, we decided it was time to open her gifts.

Koko received a CD, a book, and a new pair of jeans. Koko thanked them and turned to my present, which was in my hands.

I carefully handed her the fish bowl with the two happy fish, swimming inside.

"Wow!" she gasped. "Is this really for me?"

"Yeah, to keep you company when I'm not with you," I said, smiling brightly.

After awhile, the guests left and Koko, once again, turned to me.

"Hey Sherry," she said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you remember when I gave you those two wooden rings for your birthday, one year?"

I nodded.

"Well, I still have the matching earrings that save you from the darkness, the ones that work during either day or night. The ones that you used to save me from the darkness, like the time…Oh wait! Never mind!"

My head shot up.

"What do you mean, Koko?" I asked anxiously. "Do you know something?"

"No!" she said quickly. "Let's watch a movie!"

I eyed her suspiciously and nodded, taking her to the movie room. She didn't know about Zofis, right? Her mind was not in touch with the mamodo battle!

We decided to watch a comedy movie and we sat there on the couch, eating popcorn.

"Sherry?" Koko asked me.

"Yes Koko?"

"Thanks for everything."

"No problem." I smiled.

00000

The next day, I was busying myself with my own college homework, when I got a phone call.

"Hello?" I answered, when my butler handed me the phone.

"Sherry, could you come to my college at the side of the building, please?" she asked me. "It's an emergency!"

"Okay, I'll be right there," I said.

I hung up the phone and got in my car. It took me about ten minutes to arrive at the side of the college building.

"Oh my gosh!" I said, getting out of my car and running to Koko. She was slumped up on the side of the bricks, her arm in a twisted, bloody angle. Her face was also bloody and bruised too.

"Koko!" I said. "What happened?"

"Some of my classmates," she stuttered.

"I have to take you to the hospital!" I exclaimed. "Right now!"

I helped her walk to my car and examined her arm.

"It's probably broken," I said. I got in my car and drove her to the hospital. I walked her in and waited patiently outside her room.

One doctor came out and told me she had broken her arm.

"It's nothing serious," he said.

I breathed out.

"She'll have to wear a cast and she'll be able to get out of that room in a few days. Her face isn't too bad either, just a little bruised."

_And after her birthday too._

"May I go see her?" I asked.

"Of course," he answered.

I walked in the white room and went to stand next to Koko.

"Koko," I said, touching her hand. "Why did they do this?"

"They said I was too poor, or something like that." She smiled. "It's nothing, really."

"It is something!" I said. "If they do that again, tell them I'll deal with them!"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it!"

I kneeled next to her face.

"I will worry about it," I said. "And until I do something about this, I will not stop worrying. Koko, this is a big deal! They hurt you!"

"I know," she said sadly. "But I'm fine."

I sighed. I _would_ find those bullies.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"No need to be sorry, Sherry," she told me. "It's just my life."


End file.
